I don’t get why people think New Yorkers are rude; over the last few days I’ve found the exact opposite to be true, and there’s a damn good reason for it. A rock that sits in a river long enough won’t have very many sharp edges. Or less poetically: when you have this many people crammed onto a relatively small island, individuals who are rude won’t remain un-stabbed for very long.
People here hold doors for strangers, smile and nod, and say “excuse me” when pushing through a crowd standing shoulder-to-shoulder in an over-packed restaurant on a Saturday night.
There’s a difference between rudeness, and having well-drawn lines, beyond which, courtesy turns into open contempt. I imagine this subtle difference is lost on a lot of those who either haven’t spent a lot of time around people from this part of the country, or just don’t possess the force of character needed to draw those lines for themselves.
Generations of media caricature have taught middle America otherwise, and it will be a long time, if ever, before that’s wiped clean.For the record, DC’s pretty nice too.
Generations of media caricature have taught middle America otherwise, and it will be a long time, if ever, before that’s wiped clean.For the record, DC’s pretty nice too.
@ChrisOConnor I’m sure that area’s great too.Except Maryland, that’s the nation’s uncleaned, lint-encrusted navel. Sources: HBO’s “The Wire”, a guy I knew from there.
@ChrisOConnor I’m sure that area’s great too.Except Maryland, that’s the nation’s uncleaned, lint-encrusted navel. Sources: HBO’s “The Wire”, a guy I knew from there.